I've never posted a WIP before and I thought i would try a coffin handle bowie with frame handle construction. I started taking pictures once the blade was past the heat treat and tempering phase. The reason for that is that everything i know about profiling, grinding and hand sanding a blade was learned on this forum, nothing new to see. I do have a small import Mill/Drill machine. It is old and slow but it still beats a chainsaw file for slotting guards. I don't have any pics of the mill in action but here is a pic of it when i first got it:
here is a pic of the blade after tempering:
I used a MAPP gas torch to draw back the spine and the tang down to the guard shoulder. the tang was heated twice and so was the spine in separate operations. You can also see that i milled 0.005+/- off each side of the tang before HT to make guard fitting easier.
Filing in the guard shoulders using a Bruce Bump file guide. The upper shoulder in the pic is there for a reason. I will explain later but it has to do with the frame handle.
Guard and ferrule piece fitted, cutting the tang slot in the handle frame. I'm leaving the handle frame rectangular and not cutting out the entire slot until it is fit to the ferrule so it will clamp into the mill vise more easily.
Hey, this might even work. I was so eager to see if the frame fit was correct, i didn't think about getting it apart again when i drove the frame tabs into the ferrule. the fit was so tight it took me 20 minutes to get it apart. I have since ground a little off of teh top of the tang so i can get a screwdriver in the gap to pry it apart. I need to tweak the frame/ferrule fit just a little and then it will be time for guard and ferrule shaping, drilling pin holes and fitting the brass liners.
A few notes: This is a small vest pocket bowie, 6 1/2" blade, 11 1/2" OAL out of 3/16"O-1. Probably brass liners. Handle material is still TBD. My shop is messy, i will never win a "Neatest, Most Organized Shop Award", ever. that's all for now, more tomorrow, probably.
thanks for looking
randy
here is a pic of the blade after tempering:
I used a MAPP gas torch to draw back the spine and the tang down to the guard shoulder. the tang was heated twice and so was the spine in separate operations. You can also see that i milled 0.005+/- off each side of the tang before HT to make guard fitting easier.
Filing in the guard shoulders using a Bruce Bump file guide. The upper shoulder in the pic is there for a reason. I will explain later but it has to do with the frame handle.
Guard and ferrule piece fitted, cutting the tang slot in the handle frame. I'm leaving the handle frame rectangular and not cutting out the entire slot until it is fit to the ferrule so it will clamp into the mill vise more easily.
Hey, this might even work. I was so eager to see if the frame fit was correct, i didn't think about getting it apart again when i drove the frame tabs into the ferrule. the fit was so tight it took me 20 minutes to get it apart. I have since ground a little off of teh top of the tang so i can get a screwdriver in the gap to pry it apart. I need to tweak the frame/ferrule fit just a little and then it will be time for guard and ferrule shaping, drilling pin holes and fitting the brass liners.A few notes: This is a small vest pocket bowie, 6 1/2" blade, 11 1/2" OAL out of 3/16"O-1. Probably brass liners. Handle material is still TBD. My shop is messy, i will never win a "Neatest, Most Organized Shop Award", ever. that's all for now, more tomorrow, probably.
thanks for looking
randy
